Adventures of a farmer's daughter in Hawaii

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Did you Thank a Farmer?

Apparently, the archive post I posted back in January is causing a stir again with the anti-GMO crowd and must be hitting nerve. I’m still getting those “just label it comments,” “you go live by a field and die,” and so on. These people have a wonderful knack of being so lovely and have no problem throwing out insults after insults but honestly, doing stuff like that is childish and just shows me that you’re validating what I’ve been saying all a long about people’s lack of awareness of how biotech is all around us.

What exactly is biotech derived in our lives? Let’s see…

That’s just a small cross section of a few things that have it’s origins in biotechnology. Most people have a lot of these items in their homes and use it daily. The sad thing is that there are still many people who don’t realize the extent to which biotechnology is in our lives and yet continue to protest it.

The activists want to take Hawaii completely out of the future advances in biotechnology using loads of fear and misinformation. They will take away a huge tool that so many farmers across the US and world are using to help conserve resources and inputs to maximize productivity while having the lowest environmental impact. Farmers are embracing this tool to grow our food, fiber, and fuel products and opinionated activists want to tie their hands. These people are using what they read on the internet to change our entire food and farm system based in ideology.

So many people just dismiss the fact that many companies are growing seeds and that’s why they shouldn’t be here in Hawaii. Hawaii is vital for growing the seeds that turn into the daily food, fuel, and fiber products that we consume and use daily. These large farms help make farming more economically sustainable by bringing in lots of the inputs and supplies that the small farmers rely on at a more affordable price. Take away the seed farms and we won’t have an economically sustainable farming community.

Lots of long time farmers know this. Many new transplant farmers who have made their millions and can farm as a hobby are quick to criticize but don’t know the true nature of sustainability of farming. These neo-farmers are quick to tout organic farming because they have the financial backing to survive loss and less productivity because they operate from a different model. The old timers know the facts and are the ones speaking out.

Did you eat today? Did you drive your car or catch a bus? Did you get dressed and showered? Did you read the paper? I’m sure you did and it’s a great reminder to thank that farmer!

Someone grew those seeds that other farmers grow, and let’s not forget that Hawaii played that role!